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X
from Outer Space
Aka Big Space Monster
Guilala.
The
following review of X FROM OUTER SPACE (1967)
is reprinted with the outrageously kind permission of the
good folks Teleport-City,
where we BijouFlixers hang for fun and inspiration. Thanks,
Keith!
"Sadly enough, I've had this film sitting around on my
cluttered shelves for about ten years now, and I only got
around to watching it very recently. What a sad, pathetic
fool I have been! Oh in so many ways that rings true, but
for the purposes of this review, let's restrict it to the
fact that I've one of the absolute swankiest, coolest Japanese
monster movies of all time sitting right under my nose, and
I didn't even know it.
Imagine GODZILLA with a severe dose of OUR MAN FLINT or any
of the Matt Helm films. Imagine Gerry Anderson's UFO meets
Japanese kaiju eiga. Imagine flying to the moon where
men in silver space suits recline in bean bags, sip  martinis,
and cut the rug with their female counterparts, who have taken
the time to switch out of their shiny space suits and into
orange cocktail dresses. Then throw a giant monster smashing
up Japan into the works, and you will just barely begin to
fathom  how
insanely cool this movie is.
Perhaps my favorite moment takes place as the rocket leaves
Earth. The film, after being rather light-hearted for the
first forty minutes, gets pretty heavy when the monster appears
and starts knocking things over. The music gets all Akira
Ifukube-esque on us, and is thundering and serious. But man
alive, as soon as those mad cats get in the rocket and head
toward the moon, the swank Bruno Nicolai music starts up immediately,
making for an odd juxtaposition of moods.
X FROM OUTER SPACE makes me wish the future
had turned out more like it was supposed to, with women in
cocktail dresses and mini-skirts, go-go boots and metallic
purple hair. Why oh why did we let Ridley Scott color our
future when men like Gerry Anderson had it so, so right long
before? I want my rocket pack, God damn it!!!
The effects here are decent. Once again I will ask all people
who like to sneer at the effects in films like this to please
watch American films from the same era! Back then, we were
all flying pointy rockets into space that shot out sparks
and  left
a plume of blue smoke wafting up behind us. The effects in
this and most other Japanese films of the day were just as
good, and more times than not, better than the same stuff
from America. But we tend to overlook this. I love the 1960s
special
effects aesthetic. There was a remarkable amount of ingenuity
and craftsmanship that went into every scene. Think of how
damn long it takes to build a small scale replica of Tokyo
just so you can blow it up. It's a craft and a dedication,
not to mention a pioneering spirit in film-making, that I
respect and long for again.
All that aside, X FROM OUTER SPACE is simply
one of the quirkiest, most enjoyable sci-fi films I have ever
seen. How often can you get finger-snapping cocktail music
and retro-future bliss AND a giant monster smashing Tokyo
all in one serving? It's almost like I expect the scientists
to go, 'Well, we're stuck,' and give up, only to have [the
late] James Coburn, clad in a turtle-neck, step from the shadows
and go, 'Perhaps me and my all female team of go-go dancing
karate masters can help.'"
What Critics Say:
"The
most realistic moment in the movie: a future where space travel
has become so pedestrian that you go out to party the very
night you return." -- STOMP TOKYO
"The poor vision afforded to the wearer of this particular
rubber suit is painfully apparent in a couple of scenes. Notice
how Guilala's head is tilted back while stumbling across the
set. I imagine the actor was desperately peering around in
an attempt to figure out what was going on. Good luck buddy,
I have the benefits of perfect vision plus third person perspective
and haven't a clue, but it is still plenty of fun." --
BAD MOVIES.org
Like this flick? See also:
HUMAN
VAPOR |
Yeti:
Giant of the 20th Century
Aka Yeti -
il gigante del 20. secolo & Big Foot.
Starring Antonella Interlenghi aka Phoenix Grant.
Directed by Gianfranco Parolini aka Frank Littlewords.
 In
the wake of Dino's KING KONG remake came many endless knock-offs
and flix "aping" the formula, such as APE,
et al. One such picture was the cult fave YETI:
GIANT OF THE 20TH CENTURY (1977). To
call it laughable is to rob it of its much sublime pleasures,
such as the wondrously horrid score (complete with theme
song pop singers billed as The Yetians -- no joke!) and
Ed Wood ghost-directed special non-effects.
Unless you already have seen YETI,
it's truly hard to prepare yourself for the jaw-droppingly
bad surrealism ahead.
In
many aspects, the production values are so hit-and-miss
(one moment polished, the next crazily not) that it feels
a bit unkind critizing YETI for being anything
other than what it is. After all, it's not like we're going
to see the director's cut or special edition of this anti-classic
any time soon.
 The
Kong-sized plot has too many twists and turns to bother
delineating, but the essence is obvious enough: a giant-sized
Yeti is found frozen in the Artic. Of course, it doesn't
take the humanoids long to figure out a way to defrost the
big
guy, and -- as soon as some corporate espionage subplots
play out -- let Yeti loose in the streets of downtown Toronto
to do what shrieking Sasquatch do best in Bigfoot flix:
wreack havoc.
An
elfin-looking (read "gay") kid minus the ears
(played by Jim Sullivan) and
the smoldering "Jane" (played by stunning
Antonella Interlenghi,
who later starred in CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD) are part
of the background scenery, standing in as a pair for Jessica
Lange. While neither as diverting as eye candy nor as well-acted,
at least there is some vague hint of lusting sensuality
and sexual tension just beneath the surface performances
by the duo (though it may simply be
the director's subconscious desire to sleep with both actors
creeping through the lens, who can say?).
And
speaking of repressed sexual conflicts, try this one on
for, er, size: Yeti is nothing more than the male sexual
desire run amok, not unlike Moebius' Id run amok is the
 source
of the nightmare in FORBIDDEN PLANET. Every towering phallic
symbol Yeti sees around him once "freed" in the
city threatens him and his "issues" about his
size (or lack thereof, if Bigfoot lore in this highly-controversial
area of genitalia is to be believed without skpeticism).
Trapped in a gigantic jungle of turgid towers that never
go "flaccid," Yeti's sexual Ego is so threatened
that it responds the only way it knows how: with ape-shrieking
fists of poundin' fury! While true believers in Freud are
now wretching, true believers in The 'Squatch know whereof
we speak and are nodding their heads.
Was any of this clap-trap really there, even subconsciously,
when the director made YETI? Probably not,
especially judging from the aesthetic results, which indicate
sheer production alone was a challenge beyond attainment
in many cases. But the absence of any visuals or themes
suggesting otherwise makes YETI a curiousity
piece worth considering, then, as well, as the naive display
of directorial bravado on hand reveals much to the patient
viewer who seeks to speculate on motives that were perhaps
not addressed on set but were nonetheless preserved on film.
After all, who is to say what "matters" most in
an artist's work later, much later, in history? The cultural
zeitgeist of a by-gone era is often better captured
in the original time's heights by those trying to "emulate
it" rather than those who truly began it, as the former
often reduce what is "working" about the pop mythos
and distill it (with a potency about like moonshine, to
bootleg!).
Kind
of like the way a crappy Xerox only  retains
the bare, contrasty bones of a document after so many copies.
In this sense alone, YETI: GIANT OF THE 20TH CENTURY
truly lives up to its billing; you'll be searching your
collection many late hours trying to find a flick that tops
"Worst of the 20th Century" better -- or is that
worse? -- than YETI.--
Notes by J.J. Gittes.
 What
Critics Say:
"A
director's tour de farce. It is one of the worst
films ever made. Finding that out was a sublime pleasure
which only z-movie afficianados can appreciate... be literally
dazed by the less than special effects, crappy storyline,
and bad sets which make up the crazy world of YETI!"
-- Bristolsales, IMDB.com
"Prepare yourself for the attack of the 50-foot Oak
Ridge Boy!... the gigantic Abominable Snowman with the world's
largest mullet." -- Program Notes, SCHLOCKTOBERFEST
'03
"So low is the budget that the yeti and humans practically
never share the same frame...topping it off is an atrocious
musical score which often sounds like a cheap reworking
of Excalibur's 'Camina Burana,' at a few points with embarassing
lyrics sung my 'The Yetians.'" -- Mike Martinez, KULT
MOVIE MAXIMUS 
"Features some of the most hilarious blue-screen 'giant'
effects you'll ever see, but my personal favorite effect
is the enormous, immobile Yeti legs they built for one scene
where the filmmakers actually dare to place Yeti and the
humans in the same
shot... a must-see for all fans of bizarre cinema."
-- Acidxian, IMDB.com
"I saw this movie while I was in the Navy. For free.
In an outdoor theater, which was lucky, because otherwise
I would have had to batter down a wall to get away... stands
out in my personal experience as the single worst movie
I have ever seen." -- Lanzman, IMDB.com
"An ok monster flick, compared to the hundreds of horrendous
American flicks made. Way better!!!!" -- GreatMovieCritic4ever,
IMDB.com
Like this flick? See also:
CREATURE
FROM BLACK LAKE;
MANBEAST;
SNOWBEAST;
NIGHT
OF THE DEMON;
SASQUATCH,
THE LEGEND OF BIGFOOT
|
Zontar,
Thing from Venus
Starring John Agar, Anthony
Houston, Susan Bjurman, Pat DeLaney, Neil Fletcher & Bill
Thurman. Written & Directed by Larry Buchanan.
Larry Buchanan.  Mention
that name where 2 or more film buffs are gathered and a
fight is only minutes away. Some say he is a totally creative
genius who could stretch a dollar to lengths even Roger
Corman never dreamed of. Others say "Get serious!"
and insist he is a talentless hack.
Well I happen to like his movies and think even his colour
remakes of AIP black and whites from the 1950's show innovations
not explored in the original. Like, take ZONTAR,
THING FROM VENUS (1966) -- please! -- his 'unofficial'
remake of IT CONQUERED THE WORLD. John Agar is great in
the Peter Graves role and Tony Houston is... okay, he is
no Lee Van Cleef (jinkies, when that guy just squinted a
smart person ran for the hills!) but he justice to the role
of a scientist blinded by false promises of an artificially
created better world.
Susan Bjurman is great in the role of Houston's wife. Remember
in the original film when Beverly Garland delivered the
classic line "I hate your living guts for what you've
done to my husband and my world!"? She was all about
concentrated anger. Ms. Bjurman spits out the same line
through tears of anger, desperation and sadness. Both women
convey honest emotion but I tend to think Ms. Bjurman's
reaction is a little more  sincere
considering the situation.
Zontar himself (itself?) is just so totally original; scaly
with three eyes and bat wings and launching "control
devices" that look like winged
lobsters. Both he (it?) and "Beulah" from the
original are fear inspiring because they are so totally
alien from our own species. It is, like, just so totally
highly unlikely we could ever co-exist.
I missed the ubiquitous Bronson Canyon that was in the climax
of the original but Tony Houston brandishing a homemade
laser gun (such an improvement over Lee Van Cleef's blowtorch)
is a great study of a man whose dreams have been, quite
literally, murdered. Put this film and THE
EYE CREATURES together and you have
a whole Saturday afternoon of fun in your own living room
drive-in. --
Notes by Countess Zarina Suspiriorum.
 What
Critics Say:
"For
me, the name 'Larry Buchanan' will always suggest one film
in particular: ZONTAR, THE THING FROM VENUS...
It was listed in TV GUIDE for a Saturday afternoon, and
once I read the title, I knew I needed to see it... I'm
sure you're all questioning my sanity. I've actually had
some good things to say about a Larry Buchanan film!"
-- THE BAD MOVIE REPORT
"The badly needed remake of Roger Corman's IT CONQUERED
THE WORLD! With flying bats and a turncoat Earth scientist
doing his bidding, the world is Zontar's oyster!" --
ROTTEN TOMATOES.com
"If you can ever find this film, and you feel the need
to see a truly stupid picture that you want to laugh at,
by all means this is the one...a film that truly captured
it all." -- EPINIONS.com
"El cierre es digno de una pelicula clase z."
-- CINEFANIA.com
"Isn't quite so bad as its cult reputation would lead
you to believe... it later inspired memorable parodies on
SCTV and THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, as well as Boston's underground
ZONTAR, THE MAGAZINE FROM VENUS." -- TVGUIDE.com
"This
deliciously campy sci-film has developed a minor cult following.
It chronicles the exploits of a Venusian bat-creature who
tries to take over the Earth by invading the mind of a hapless
victim." -- Sandra Brennan, ALL MOVIE GUIDE
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Reviews:
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